UNH Entrepreneurship Center Newsletter

The ECenter is the co-curricular heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship at UNH. Our goal is to create the next generation of leaders with an entrepreneurial mind-set who can see opportunities and identify creative solutions others have missed, one idea at a time. Although part of UNH, we are independent of any one college.

March 2022 Newsletter

The Latest Happenings from the ECenter

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Masks are off on campus… and the freedom that it brings to be innovative is encouraging!

If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, the movie “Groundhog Day” might come to mind because of the volume of ECenter student success that we share each time. I can assure you that these stories are unique... and we love sharing them.

As you will read, the past two months have been great for entrepreneurial UNH alumni. You'll read about alumni like Tim Collins (’85) giving back to students by sharing important aspects of company culture and personal growth and Will Bodewes (’20), launch a new company, Spoke Sound, after years of working to master his start-up skills at the ECenter.

With spring in the air, so comes our highly competitive and nationally recognized summer programs.

Amazing student ideas have been selected for the Summer Seed Grant (sponsored by Pierce Atwood, LLP) and alumni donor funded Paid Student Internships at Start-Ups Program has been increased to 16 students this year. The internships provide many benefits: providing students in-the-trenches learning with founders, start-up companies valuable human capital they otherwise might not be able to afford, and donors the satisfaction of having a significant impact on a UNH student’s career.

I would be remiss not to note, that if you too would like that satisfaction, please donate to the ECenter during the #603Challenge. Those dollars will go directly to support the Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program.

Stay curious.

Ian Grant

Executive Director, ECenter

[email protected]

Donate to Paid Student Internships

Internships at Start-ups

Awarded to a Record 18 Students

In the sixth year of the Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program, we've expanded the number of available internships to 16. This is thanks to generous gifts from UNH alumni donors and (603) Challenge donors from 2021. Additionally, one start-up, Sports Visio, was so impressed with the UNH students they interviewed that they wanted to hire two more on their own. That means the program is facilitating a whopping 18 spots this year, up from 15 spots last year.

For those unfamiliar with the program, it provides UNH freshmen, sophomores, and juniors from any college or major the opportunity to get hands-on experience working at a start-up company. Not all students have an idea right away, and for those who might want to learn more about the inner workings of a start-up, an internship at a start-up is the perfect way to spend a summer developing entrepreneurial skills. This learning experience doubles up as an opportunity for students to take part in the building process.

By the time the application deadline passed for both students and start-ups, we had 31 applications for start-ups and 44 student applications. This resulted in a whopping 191 interviews over two weeks! After the interviews, we obtained feedback from all and made 1:1 matches.

The 18 matches for the summer of 2022 are:

Addison Craven ’25 (Paul College) interning with Great Bay Renewables
Bella Dziak ’24 (COLSA) interning with Waking Web Farm (alumna founded)
Burke Griffin ’22 Dec (Paul College) interning with Sports Visio
Francis Molino ’23 (CEPS) interning with FAT Mongoose
Gunnar De Young ’23 (Paul College) interning with Kikori (current PhD student founded)
Ivy Shattuck ’23 (COLA) interning with NOCA Beverages (alumni founded)
James Sullivan III ’25 (Paul College) interning with Elite Sports Academy (funded by Elite Sports Academy)
Jason Guinard ’23 (Paul College) interning with Prapela
Jocelyne Bisson ’24 (Paul College) interning with GoodWork (alumna founded)
Johanne Nichols ’24 (Paul College) interning with Auris BioEnergy (alumnus founded)
Kate Bilodeau ’22 Dec (Paul College) interning with Sports Visio (funded by Sports Visio)
Luke DeRidder ’23 (Paul College) interning with Helios Sports
Nova Robbins ’25 (Paul College) interning with Blustream Corporation
Sia Manna ’25 (CEPS) interning with Wristruments (alumnus founded)
Taylor Ribeiro ’23 (Paul College) interning with Aisling Organics
Tom Keegan ’23 (Paul College) interning with Evolve Talent
William Joyner ’24 (CEPS) interning with CADSPARC
Yassine Jakib ’24 (CEPS) interning with PolyJoule

Congratulations to all the students and start-ups participating in our internship program this summer!

Please stay tuned for information on the end of summer showcase during which the interns will share their experiences and what they each learned over the summer in their internships.

More more information on the Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program, please visit our website. If you are a student or start-up interested in applying for summer 2023, please email [email protected] to be informed when the 2023 applications open.

ECenter Student Ambassador Shares Her Story with Future Wildcats

ECenter Ebassador (our word for an ECenter student ambassador) Madison McEachern '23 (COLSA) was recently asked by UNH Admissions to write a blog post for Wildcat Take about her engagement with the ECenter. The Wildcat Take is a publicly visible blog geared towards prospective UNH students. Madison titled her post, "What's your big idea?"

We're happy to share it with you here!

As an animal science major, Madison McEachern’s path to entrepreneurship might seem unexpected. However, she says that’s what makes UNH’s Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter) so unique: it’s a space for UNH students across all majors and colleges who are passionate about bringing their big ideas to life – students like her. Here’s her story, from innovation to incubation.

Madison:

The University of New Hampshire’s Entrepreneurship Center (ECenter) isn’t just a place for students to grow their big ideas. It is a place where all students become more innovative thinkers and learn valuable skills for any career.

For starters, the ECenter is in downtown Durham and welcomes students from all colleges and majors to get involved with their programs, learn how to become leaders, and develop creative solutions to any problem big or small. It features some great shared spaces for students, including the Cube^X Coworking Space, where students can work on homework or get inspiration to work on new ideas, and a student-run Makerspace, where you can use 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, and so much more to explore your creativity.

How I got involved

I am currently a junior animal science major and I have been a part of the ECenter since my freshman year. I was part of the Idea + Innovation Society, which is a group of freshmen students chosen to be a part of a team that works together to make their ideas come to life. They may start a business or non-profit or invent something new. The Society also builds a community to support each other's creativity and give students the opportunity to learn and participate in events that teach them how to become better leaders and entrepreneurs. We participated in events such as the Boston University Idea Conference, various Idea Creation Bootcamps, and idea competitions within the UNH community and beyond. Since getting involved with the ECenter, I have also participated in the ECenter’s i2 Passport Program, the Holloway Prize (from Paul College) and Maurice Prize Competitions, and attended multiple Alumni Speaker Series events.

The i2 Passport Program is a great way for any undergraduate or graduate student to get involved in ECenter programs and learn more about entrepreneurship. It is also a great way to reduce student loans or receive funding for a new idea as the program gives students the chance to win $25,000 in cash prizes each year. I have been an ambassador for the ECenter, also called an Ebassador, since the beginning of my sophomore year, which means working with a small team of students to help promote ECenter events and motivate Wildcats to get involved. It is very rewarding to share my ECenter experiences and encourage others to join us.

What I’ve learned

I have learned so many valuable lessons from my involvement with the ECenter. I have learned the importance of networking and making connections. Being a COLSA student, I have learned how innovation and creativity can be incorporated into many different fields of study. The ECenter’s programs teach me a different set of skills from what I learn in the classroom. I have also worked on my public speaking and presentation skills through classroom visits as an Ebassador, presenting for various competitions, and participating in the Ideathons. I have gotten the opportunity to meet so many new people from many different majors and I even met one of my roommates through the Idea + Innovation Society!

Check out the Wildcat Take for yourself!

Students Learn About Building

Company Culture in a Hands-on Workshop

We were lucky this semester to have our friend Tim Collins '85, 2020 inductee into the UNH Alumni Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, lead a workshop on the importance of company culture! Tim is the founder and president of EBSCO Information Systems, an internal business with more than 3,000 employees and over $2 billion in sales. In 1983, while attending UNH, he co-founded Data Base Communications Corp., a company specializing in summarizing articles in popular magazines, which was later purchased by EBSCO Industries Inc. and became EBSCO Information Services.

Tim kicked off the evening by discussing the principles of company culture for those who get involved in starting a company and those joining an established company. Regardless of career choice, one must understand what it takes to be successful in business and that often comes down to healthy culture. Throughout the evening, Tim led a series of activities designed to get the students learning about the principles of company culture and identifying those that are most important to them.

"The Building Company Culture event with Tim Collins really made me reflect on my values and the environment I want to foster in any organization I am a part of. Thanks to Tim, I now have several culture and principle items that I can use to make my company a better, more productive, and happier work environment," said Jason Plant '23 (Paul College).

Tim shared the core culture principles at EBSCO and how those principles create a culture of showing up for each other and working together.

If you'd like to learn more about the importance of building company culture, watch the recording of the workshop on our YouTube page.

Thank you to Lake Street Advisors for sponsoring this fantastic event!

Student Entrepreneur Spotlight: Will Bodewes

We’re excited to report that ECenter alumni, Will Bodewes ’20, Founder & CEO of Spoke Sound, has been growing his start-up company at an impressive speed since graduating from UNH and relocating to Colorado! Spoke Sound has since received accolades from the ColoradoBiz Magazine 2021 (2021 Top Home and Lifestyle Business to watch) and is finalizing the coming launch of a new product, Swell, with plans to launch July 2022.

"A big part of Spoke Sound's success has come from getting into the SCAPE accelerator program. I can say that the only reason I got in to the program was because of the experience I gained from the ECenter,” Will said. “I have also made some great connections as a result of the ECenter that have helped me a lot with everything from raising capital to setting up IP.”

Spoke Sound offers innovative sound solutions by creating speakers which double as wall-mounted pictures and project sound out to cover 180 degrees.

We’re proud of you and your #ECenterImpact, Will!

Seeking Program Support Assistant

The ECenter team is growing! We're seeking a personable, resourceful, organized, and detail-oriented professional to provide program and administrative support.

If you are looking to join a dynamic team, please take a look at this unique opportunity!

Help us support student ideas at UNH!

More details: bit.ly/ECenterJobs

Job posting # PS3044FY22

$16,000 Summer Seed Grant

Awarded to Four Students

It's hard to believe we're about to start our seventh cohort of our Summer Seed Grant program! Time flies when you're having fun and paying students to work on their own ideas instead of having to find a summer job.

For summer 2022, we have three great ideas from four motivated and passionate students. Over the nine weeks of the program, they're receiving funding for 40 hours of work a week and receiving weekly 1:1 mentoring for seasoned entrepreneurs.

Read on to learn more about the three ideas selected for the 2022 Summer Seed Grant!

First up is Grey-t Water, helmed by Emily Abrusci '25 (COLSA) and Nathan Brennan '25 (Paul College). Emily and Nathan came up with the idea at the ECenter's 3 Day Start-up Weekend event. Grey-t Water is a greywater filtration system that recycles water from the drains of your appliances and redistributes it to your toilets. This will help to tackle the problem of water usage in areas where fresh water is scarce.

Emily and Nathan are both members of the ECenter's Idea & Innovation Society, an exclusive group of aspiring first year students who are idea creators, innovative thinkers, or entrepreneurs from across UNH.

Lightcap Health is the first idea from a doctoral student in the Summer Seed Grant!

Founded by Hannah Lightcap '24 (PhD), Lightcap Health will offer clients a personalized health behavior plan that is customized to their personality. These strategic plans are designed to change health behaviors thus improving client health outcomes.

Rounding out the four spots in the Summer Seed Grant is Madison Ridky '25 (Paul College). Madison has an idea for a back brace with a built-in bra called Madposture. The back brace will help individuals improve their posture and feel confident, secure, and comfortable no matter where they go.

We're excited to see how these ideas progress over the summer! Thank you to the mentors working with these passionate students:

Tanja Owen - Head of US Marketing, BAKKAVOR USA and Founding Member, Chief
Andrew Stickney - Chief of Staff, H1
Todd Szahun '07 - Experienced Omnichannel Executive with a 20+ year history of entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship

A huge thank you to our friends at Pierce Atwood LLP who make the Summer Seed Grant possible!

The (603) Challenge is Almost Here!

The 603 Challenge starts at 12am EST on April 8th and ends on April 12th. Please mark your calendar to help support the nationally-recognized UNH Entrepreneurship Center!

Every dollar helps support our 100% donor-funded programs, like our Paid Student Internship at Start-ups Program. As part of the Paid Student Internship at Start-Ups Program, UNH students get hands-on experience working with a start-up founder and are immersed in the start-up culture - and 50% of the students placed in an internship through the ECenter are hired by the start-up for another professional opportunity! As you can see, the generosity of friends of the ECenter, like you, helps students succeed.

As part of the ECenter community, you'll receive an email from us when the 603 Challenge has launched, along with a link to the donation page. If you would like a personal email or text reminder when the 603 Challenge launches, please email Associate Program Manager Genevieve Brown at [email protected].

For more information about making a gift, please contact Sandra Tripodi at [email protected].

Thank you!

Students Inspired:

UNH Partners with BU IDEA Con

The ECenter team was excited to partner with Boston University last month to offer UNH students the opportunity of an in-person experience at IDEA Con 2022 in Boston, MA. On February 26, a group of nearly 30 students who boarded the ECenter bus for an exciting field trip were inspired by world-class innovators and created lasting connections.

“I was struck by the innovation and resourcefulness of my peers. IDEA Con has inspired me to keep moving forward on my entrepreneurship journey,” said James Sullivan III ’25 (Paul College). Added Gracie Jordan '25 (Paul College), “ IDEA Con taught me that everyone has something unique to offer the world and no one's path to success looks the same.“

The conference offered different learning tracks including a presentation by Kendra Bostick ‘23G, CEO and co-founder of Kikori (top left picture), a start-up launched at the ECenter. Ian Grant, ECenter executive director, also presented a workshop offering key sales strategies from his start-up experiences. For more information on IDEA Con 2022, please visit: https://sites.bu.edu/ideacon.